Genevieve Julianne Grandbois Denis
Memorial services for Fargo native Genevieve Julianne Grandbois Denis will be held at 2:00 PM on Monday, July 5, 2004, at St. Benedict's Church, 11705 38th Street South, Horace (Wild Rice), N.D.
Of French-Canadian descent, Genevieve was born on the family farm in Wild Rice on March 29, 1912, one of the eight surviving children of J. Wilbrod Grandbois and Josephine Daltie Parent. Her great-great-great grandmother on her mother's side was full-blood Chippewa. On July 4, 1932, at St. Benedict's, Genevieve married Alphonse Joseph ("A.J.") Denis of Fargo, North Dakota, where their four children were born and raised. For many years Alphonse and his brothers owned and operated Denis Brothers Furs on Broadway in Fargo, a business started by their father. Their later years were spent in Portland, Oregon, where Alphonse died in 1987, and Genevieve died on October 27, 2003, at the age of 91.
She is survived by her brother, Paul Grandbois, of Sun City, CA; two sisters, Beatrice Ness and Berniece Tessier, of Fargo; and her four children, Joan Worton of Klamath Falls, OR, Dale St. Denis of Coronado, CA, Theresa Plowy of San Bernardino, CA, and Ronald Denis of Camas, WA. She also leaves ten grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild.
Her independent pioneer spirit and colorful stories of North Dakota life will live on in those she leaves behind.
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Immediately following the service, she will be laid to rest next to her beloved A.J. at Holy Cross Cemetery in Fargo.
